August 1, 2012

Okanogan National Forest

As long as I can remember, my family and I have taken camping trips every summer. They always included hiking, picnics at the beach, walking through the small towns nearby, and roasting lots of marshmallows! Now, as a parent, I finally have first hand experience at how long it takes to plan for a camping trip, especially with two little ones in tow. Yes, we might of had to listen to Shepherd screaming and crying for the last hour in the car, scare off a rattlesnake that Jeremy was tempted to kill (and eat), play with my dear boy from 2:30am to 8am because he wasn't tired, and fight off the urge to vomit when Jeremy cut his finger from carving wood. But I wouldn't change our first family trip for anything!
Other than the first night of no sleep with Shep, the kids adjusted into their normal sleeping routines and were in heaven just playing in the dirt and going on multiple hikes around the campground. I asked Ruby what her favorite part was and she said "drinking the hot cocoa." With how well this trip went, I can say that Jeremy and I are very relieved and excited that we can now do what we hoped for and that is travel around camping as a family! We definitely will go on many more trips before the summer ends!

This was a Father-daughter talk about the dangers around our campsite (rattlesnakes) and what the safety rules were.

oh my gosh! Why am I not surprised he did that?! He was telling me about the place called paradise creek, or paradise falls, something like that. He said you all when there when he was a kid and wants to take us there this summer.

Oh my, what gorgeous pictures and what a beautiful memory... nothing in the world is better then camping... although as a teenager I remember dreading the annual paradise creek trips... to bad I was too obnoxious to enjoy my time there because it was an absolutely beautiful place... definitely go there- you will love it! thanks so much for sharing these, and boy do I know of some great places in Northern CA and Montana to recommend when you guys get ready for a much longer car ride!